Related Stories

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has taken his lumps for expanding into America's Sunbelt.

But as time goes on, there's more proof putting NHL teams in places like Florida, Texas, Arizona, Tennessee and California has accomplished at least one thing in the NHL's favour: those non-traditional hockey markets are now producing some pretty good players.

Former Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey was a big part of helping grow hockey in Texas with the Stars, getting involved in minor hockey when his son, Steve, was at that age.

"I had this conversation with (defenceman) Mike Komisarek seven or eight years ago," said Gainey of Komisarek, a native of West Islip, N.Y. "We were talking about why we have these teams in all these different places. I asked him, 'Would you have ever started playing if the Islanders hadn't been on Long Island?' He said, 'No.' It was because of the Islanders they had a hockey program. Guys like Gerry Hart and Bob Nystrom put some of those kids through. There's a combination of things there. "With the footprint being big, sometimes we look at it and say it should be smaller but there are areas where the kids are starting to play because the team is there."

Hall of Fame defenceman Al MacInnis, who retired in St. Louis and has been involved with minor hockey there, said there is a direct correlation between the Stanley Cup victories by teams in non-traditional markets and the growth of hockey programs in those markets.

"Let's be honest, it started with Wayne Gretzky going to L.A. All of a sudden, you have Dallas winning the Cup a few years ago and Seth Jones (who played here and could be the top pick in this summer' draft) coming out of the Dallas youth program.

"That's not a coincidence. Colorado winning Cups: Adam Foote is involved there, Joe Sakic is helping out. There's other guys helping with the youth programs. That's a big part of it."

MacInnis said the television ratings in the U.S. reflect the momentum hockey had up until the lockout.

"Look at NBC and the playoff ratings last year. They were outstanding. The Winter Classic has been outstanding. There's a lot of good things in place that continue to grow the game south of the border. The alumni, teams winning in Colorado, Dallas, Tampa Bay, L.A. this year. The Kings winning in L.A. this year, I can't imagine what it's going to do for the youth hockey programs in town."

Might have been even better if the Kings were actually playing right now.

chris.stevenson@sunmedia.ca

twitter.com/CJ_Stevenson

-

The growth of hockey in the so-called non-traditional hockey states in the U.S. is also reflected in the American college game.

There are fewer Canadians playing Division 1 NCAA hockey -- down almost 100 over the last 10 years -- and there are more players from those states not known for hockey. Part of the reason for the decline in Canadians playing is the job the Canadian Hockey League has done in recruiting and retaining them to play major junior hockey.

Here are the numbers:

* 463, or 30%, of Division I men's players are Canadian, with Ontario (190), BC (99) and Alberta (86) leading the way. That's down from 549, or 34.5%, in 2002-03.

* Most of that difference has been made up by Americans, with a slight uptick in Europeans as well. Here's a look at the states with the biggest growth in those 10 years:

Non-traditional hockey markets are now producing some pretty good players

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has taken his lumps for expanding into America's Sunbelt.

But as time goes on, there's more proof putting NHL teams in places like Florida, Texas, Arizona, Tennessee and California has accomplished at least one thing in the NHL's favour: those non-traditional hockey markets are now producing some pretty good players.

About the author

Other Stories

As Brooke Henderson stalked a birdie putt on the 15th green at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in the second round of the U.S. Women’s Open on Friday, not many in the big gallery were looking at her.